Service discovery in a wireless network

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of service discovery in a wireless network involve an Access Point (AP) proxy service to represent service providers. The AP manages service provider information, which is provided in response to service requests from service consumers. The AP proxy capability is advertised as a broadcast message in the wireless network.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Some embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodimentspertain to the discovery of components in a wireless network.

BACKGROUND

The diversity of computing and communication applications increases asthe size of the enabling devices decreases. Efficiency is a key designelement for small devices. A mobile device, which is used by aSubscriber Consumer (SC), provides a good user experience when thedevice is able to quickly discover service(s) proximate to the device.Additionally, the device seeks to reduce power consumption for themobile device as well as apparatus and machines at the Service Provider(SP).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network, supportingPoint-to-Point (P2P) communications and having multiple devicessupporting P2P communication, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an Access Point (AP)providing proxy capability information to Service Providers (SPs) in acommunication system, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a service registrationprocess for an SP, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a Type-Length-Value (TLV) framefor use in a communication protocol.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a service registrationInformation Element (IE) of a message frame, in accordance with exampleembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an AP and an SP within acommunication system, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an association of an AP andan SP, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a scan phase in servicediscovery in a system, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a scan phase in servicediscovery using an AP proxy service discovery, in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an AP proxy servicediscovery process, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an AP proxy service discoveryprocess, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of a service consumerin a system supporting an AP proxy service discovery process, inaccordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a computing system for implementing an AP proxy servicediscovery process, in accordance with example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments of the invention to enable those skilled in the artto practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical,electrical, process, and other changes. Examples merely typify possiblevariations. Individual components and functions are optional unlessexplicitly required, and the sequence of operations may vary. Portionsand features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for,those of other embodiments. Embodiments of the invention set forth inthe claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.Embodiments of the invention may be referred to herein, individually orcollectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and withoutintending to limit the scope of this application to any single inventionor inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed.

As mobile computing and communication devices continue toward smallerdevice sizes, the function and capabilities of these devices increases.Devices communicate wirelessly with a variety of other devices andnetworks. New applications introduce demands on service discovery andenergy efficiency. Service discovery may be done through higher-layerservice discovery protocols, such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)which is a set of networking protocols to allow devices to connectseamlessly. Another higher-layer service discovery protocol is appliedfor Zero Configuration Network (ZeroConf), which is a set of techniquesto create a usable Internet Protocol (IP) network. Some servicediscovery techniques result in long delays, requiring establishment of aconnection with the network or other devices before initiating discoverservices. For example, in a system having multiple networks or multiplepeer devices, each device connects and disconnects from the multiplenetworks and/or multiple peer devices in order to locate a network or apeer device which is able to support a specific service.

A Communication System

A communication system may include both wired and wireless components.The system may include networks, such as Local Area Networks (LANs) andmay interact with Wide Area Networks (WANs). Within a communicationsystem, groups of devices may be arranged for simplified communication,such as a group of devices communicating with each other and havingaccess to devices external to the group through a common node or device.A variety of configurations and arrangements are possible to allowefficient communication over a variety of communication media.

A convenient model for describing a communication system employs theOpen Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. The OSI model isparticularly useful in understanding the layers, including the higherlayers, of a communication system. The OSI model, developed byInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1984, is aconceptual framework or architectural model of standards forcommunication in the network across different equipment and applicationsby different vendors. The OSI model defines the communications processinto seven (7) layers. Layers 7 through 4 deal with end to endcommunications between data source and destinations. Layers 3 to 1 dealwith communications between network devices. The higher layers or upperlayers include layers 7, 6 and 5, while the lower layers include layers4, 3, 2, and 1. The upper layers of the OSI model deal with applicationissues and generally are implemented in software. The highest layer, theapplication layer, is closest to the end user. The lower layers of theOSI model handle data transport issues. The physical layer and the datalink layer may be implemented in hardware and software. The lowestlayer, the physical layer, is closest to the physical network medium(the wires, for example) and is responsible for placing data on themedium. A specific description of the OSI layers is given in Table I.Some methods provide discovery in the layer 2, or Data Link Layer, whichis referred to as Layer-2 Service Discovery (L2SD).

TABLE I OSI Layers Layer Description 7 Application Layer: Defines theinterface to user processes for communication and data transfer in thenetwork. 6 Presentation Layer: Masks the differences of data formatsbetween dissimilar systems. Specifies architecture-independent datatransfer format. Encodes and decodes data. Encrypts and decrypts data.Compresses and decompresses data. 5 Session Layer: Manages user sessionsand dialogues. Controls establishment and termination of logic linksbetween users. Reports upper layer errors. 4 Transport Layer: Managesend-to-end message delivery in network. Provides reliable and sequentialpacket delivery through error recovery and flow control mechanisms.Provides connectionless-oriented packet delivery. 3 Network Layer:Determines how data are transferred between network devices. Routespackets according to unique network device addresses. Provides flow andcongestion control to prevent network resource depletion. 2 Data LinkLayer: Defines procedures for operating the communication links. Framespackets. Detects and corrects packets transmit errors. 1 Physical Layer:Defines physical means of sending data over network devices. Interfacesbetween network medium and devices. Defines optical, electrical andmechanical characteristics.Some communication systems may be organized according to another model.The present disclosure considers the OSI model as an example for clarityof discussion, but the concepts described are not limited to such amodel.Discovery in a Wireless Network

Within a communication system, such as a system including a wirelessnetwork, the individual devices and groups of devices may attempt toidentify services provided within the network. A device may send arequest to discover the other devices and services available within thenetwork.

According to an example embodiment, efficient service discovery enablesdevices within a communication system to discover proximate servicesefficiently, without incurring unacceptable power consumption for thedevice or service providers. Service provider may employ a variety oftechniques; these techniques often involve communication and messagingbetween entities in a system. For example, individual devices maycoordinate to determine service capabilities. Similarly, a device mayadvertise service capabilities to multiple devices in a network.Efficient service discovery uses a system's configuration andcapabilities to assist in the discovery process and reduce thecommunications and messaging.

A communication system is made up of multiple nodes or points forimplementing communication paths among multiple devices. A variety ofconfigurations of such a communication system may include many differenttypes of connections. Each device within a communication network may beconsidered a node or point of the network. A communication system mayalso include a common node providing connectivity and enablingcommunication paths to multiple devices; this type of common node isreferred to as an Access Points (AP). As used herein, an AP refers to adevice that provides connectivity for at least one other device. The APprovides connectivity within a communication system, which may include anetwork of connectivity, such as communication through the Internet orother networked environment. In one example, an AP provides connectivityto a network for a group of devices. The network may support one ormultiple communication protocols. For example, the network may supportWi-Fi connectivity to Wi-Fi stations as specified in by IEEE 802.11,which is a set of standards for implementing communications in aWireless Local Area Network (WLAN). A network or system may supportother communication protocols as well.

In a communication system, the multiple devices may offer differentservices or capabilities. Similarly, a group of devices may offer acomposite service, such as where the group includes a server forcoordinating operations and individual computing devices. As usedherein, “device” and “computing device” are not meant to refer strictlyto a stand-alone machine, but may refer to modules, circuitry, software,hardware, firmware, or other machines within one device. Forcommunication within a communication system or network, a devicedesiring to use a service requires a way to access the service. In oneexample, a device may request information about the capabilitiesavailable in the system or from a specific device, or may receiveinformation as broadcast from within the system. These processes aregenerally referred to as service discovery.

For service discovery, a device discovers information about otherdevices, and then uses that information to access a desired service. Atype of system configuration which allows devices to interact directlyincludes a Point-to-Point (P2P) communication system. P2P refers to theability of an individual device to communicate with another individualdevice, directly or through the network. P2P also refers to the abilityof a group of devices to communicate with another device or anothergroup. In a P2P system, service discovery includes device discovery,which finds at least one of the P2P devices in the network, and thenselects from the discovered P2P devices for communication or to access aservice. In one example, P2P devices include a laptop computer andmultiple printers; the laptop computer discovers the printers and thenselects one of the printers for printing a document.

P2P service or device discovery may include multiple phases, such as ascan phase and a find phase. The scan phase is defined by specifics forscanning the network to identify other P2P devices. The scan phaseallows a first device to find other devices or groups of devices in thenetwork, as well as to locate an operating frequency channel. A channelmay be a portion of the transmission spectrum. In a Wi-Fi system, thechannel is a range of frequencies. In one example, a Wi-Fi system mayhave a channel defined by a low frequency, central frequency and highfrequency, such as 2.401 GHz, 2.412 GHz, and 2.423 GHz, respectively. Inone example, a scan phase provides information regarding other devicesor networks and network elements by scanning multiple channels.

In some examples, service discovery introduces delay as a communicationconnection is established before or prior to service or devicediscovery. This may require multiple connections, disconnections,identification processes, and so forth, in order to locate the point fora particular service. While various discovery methods avoid some delayin the discovery process, residual delays remain, such as the time forwaking a device that is in power save mode.

The following discussion describes a wireless network for wirelesscommunication, such as a wireless Local Area Network (LAN), implementinga WiFi communication protocol as specified by IEEE 802.11. The followingnomenclature is consistent with this embodiment; however, the methodsand apparatus described herein are also applicable to other types ofcommunication networks. A wireless LAN is a network of APs, wherein anAP may be an infrastructure AP or a Central Point (CP) in a wirelessPeripheral Access Network (PAN). For example, for a wireless dockingimplementation, a display having wireless communication capability mayact as a CP, allowing connection for other peripheral devices. There area variety of different devices and different combinations available forwireless communication networks. The following discussion is providedwith respect to a given network; however, the methods described are notlimited to the example networks and devices described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100, supporting wireless and P2Pcommunications. The system 100 includes multiple devices supporting P2Pcommunication, including device 10, device 12, device 14, device 18, andgroup 17. As illustrated, device 14 is part of a group 11, whichincludes other devices: device 13 and device 15, and will be describedfurther herein below. In the present example, device 10 is a scandevice, device 12 is a display device, and device 13 is a print device.The system 100 supports a WiFi communication protocol. The system 100may also include wired connections to other devices (not shown), and maysupport or implement other communication protocols as well. The system100 includes a network 20, which may be the Internet or other networkedsystem.

The system 100 communicates with a group of other devices 17, which mayinclude a server or other computing device (not shown) which provides agateway to network 20 for other devices 17. The other devices 17 maycommunicate with network 20 and other devices within system 100 usingwireless or wired communication methods. The connections within system100 illustrate various communication paths, but the system 100 is notlimited to the communication paths illustrated, and devices withinsystem 100 may communicate using wired or wireless communicationtechniques.

Still further, system 100 includes a device 18 which is a mobile devicefor communication with network 20 as well as other P2P devices withinsystem 100. The device 18 may include additional functionality, such asapplications for providing services to other devices within system 100.Similarly, when device 18 moves within a group of devices, such as thegroup of other devices 17, device 18 may join that group.

AP Proxy in a Wireless Network

While service discovery often involves communication messages andnegotiation, such as among P2P devices, efficient service discovery maybe implemented according to an example embodiment using aspects of asystem configuration, such as the configuration of system 100. Asillustrated, system 100 includes multiple devices, wherein the device 14acts as an AP for other devices. As an AP provides connectivity and acommunication path to other devices in the system 100, the AP may beimplemented as a proxy for devices in service discovery processes. Inthis way, the individual devices may remain in a power saving mode whilethe AP provides information and responds to information requests. Forexample, device 14 may act as an AP proxy for device 13 and device 15.

An AP, such as device 14, may be a router or other device providingconnectivity to a network, such as network 20. The devices connected todevice 14 communicate with the network 20 through the AP. Similarly,devices communicating through the network 20 go through device 14 tocommunicate with device 13 and device 15. In this way, device 14 is onthe communication paths involving device 13 or device 15. Devices mayaccess services offered by device 13 or device 15 through device 14.

According to one embodiment, an AP proxy scheme enables an AP toadvertise the services and devices of a network. In one example, device14 acts as an AP for group 11; group 11 includes devices 13, 14 and 15.Note, other devices may act as an AP for wireless connections to otherdevices or to network 20. Still further, devices 17 may include an AP,as well as SP 16, device 18, and so forth. A device within system 100may act as an AP or may include an AP device, such as a home networkrouter, or a module within a computing device. Such methods reducelatency and delay in the discovery process, while also allowingdiscovery of a Service Providers (SPs) while remain in a low power mode,such as a power save mode. The reduced time for service and devicediscovery reduces power consumption for the device seeking to discoverservices and devices available in the network as well.

According to an example embodiment, device 14 is an AP providingwireless connectivity to network 20 for device 13 and device 15 withingroup 11. At least one device within group 11 provides services to otherdevices; the services may be offered to devices within group 11 and todevices external to group 11.

In one example, device 15 provides a printing service and, therefore,acts as an SP for these services. For device 15, and other SPs, toprovide their services to other devices, the SP makes informationavailable identifying the service and how to access the service to otherdevices. In some service discovery techniques, the SP provides thisinformation individually on request by the other device. In othertechniques, the SP broadcasts or advertises the information to multipledevices, such as throughout system 100 or within network 20. Accordingto some example embodiment, AP proxy service discovery techniques reducethe burden on individual SPs by providing the service and accessinformation to an AP. The AP is then able to act as a proxy for the SPin maintaining the SP service and access information as well asproviding the SP service and access information, such as through anadvertisement or in response to service discovery requests. In this way,the AP may compile information for multiple SPs to advertise multipleservices. The AP alleviates the need for individual SPs to respond toservice discovery requests or to broadcast information, and thusincreases the efficiency of SP devices. The SP may enter a power savingmode, such as a sleep mode, and may choose not to respond to servicediscovery requests.

SP Registration with an AP Proxy

In one embodiment, an AP sends out information to the network 20periodically or on occurrence of an event. In other embodiments, the APmay send out information according to a schedule or randomly. FIG. 2illustrates a signal flow diagram for an Access Point (AP) providingproxy capability information to Service Providers (SPs) in acommunication system, in accordance with example embodiments. The AP,such as device 14 of FIG. 1, provides a proxy capability message 30,such as a beacon transmission, which may be provided wirelesslythroughout system 100. To access further information, the SP, such asdevice 15, then sends a probe request 32 to the AP. The AP responds witha proxy capability message 34 including, or as, a probe response. Theproxy capability message 30 is part of a proxy capability advertisement,which is provided in layer 2 of the OSI model described herein above. Agiven SP may receive advertisements similar to proxy capability message30 from other APs within system 100.

To enable an AP proxy service discovery technique, the SP then providesservice and access information to the AP. The AP maintains suchinformation, as well as information for other SPs. The information maythen be sent out in a beacon as an advertisement to notify other deviceswithin system 100 that the services are available, as well as to provideaccess information to the SP(s). When an SP seeks to use an AP as aproxy, or seeks to join a network or group, the SP sends an AssociationRequest or a Reassociation Request that contains its service informationto the AP. For example, in system 100, for device 15 to use device 14 asan AP, device 15 sends a registration request to device 14 in thenetwork 20, such as by sending a Reassociation Request message includingservice information for device 14. The services provided by device 15are considered to be registered with the AP, i.e., with device 14, afterdevice 15 receives a Reassociation Response frame.

In a Wi-Fi system, an association is a process specified by the IEEE802.11 standard for a mobile device to connect to an AP. An SPassociates with an AP so the AP has information about the SP and the SPis able to advertise its services through the AP. The associationprocess may occur before or after the SP discovers that the AP supportsan AP proxy process. After association, an SP may then register with anAP, which is part of the AP proxy process. The association andregistration processes are implemented in different layer 2 messages.

Such a proxy capability advertisement may be referred to as an L2SDproxy capability advertisement. The AP advertises the capability in amessage or beacon. In one embodiment, an L2SD proxy capability bit isprovided within an Information Element (IE) in a Wi-Fi communicationsystem. As specified in the IEEE 802.11 WLAN protocol, an IE is part ofa management frame. The IEs provide a way for a device to transferdescriptive information about the device inside management frames. Amanagement frame may include several IEs. Other communications withinsystem 100 are provided as IEs, including SP messages to establishregistration with an AP and to provide service and access information.

FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a service registrationprocess for an SP, in accordance with example embodiments. An SPdesiring to use an AP as a proxy sends a service registration request 40to the AP as an IE, including information identifying the SP andrequesting registration. The SP includes information in the IE toidentify the services offered by the SP and corresponding serviceattributes. This information is carried in a sub-element of the IE, asdescribed herein below. Service information may be used by a deviceseeking such services, such as an SC, in deciding to select this SP. Forexample, when device 18 of FIG. 1 is a mobile device acting as an SCseeking a printing service, device 18 may use a service discoveryprocess to find device 15 as an SP; the device 18 may considerattributes of device 15 in comparison to other printing devices. Thedevice 18 may desire a color printer to print a document, and therefore,the ability to print in color is an attribute of interest to the device18 as an SC. The information identifying attributes of the SP, such asdevice 15, are encoded in the sub-elements of the IE sent to the AP,such as device 14. The IE further includes service type, context orlocation of the SP, and may include a user-friendly name. In oneexample, the SP information may be derived from service informationprovided by higher-level service applications. In some embodiments, someinformation may be configured by user input to the SP.

The AP considers the service registration request 40 and determines ifthere is capacity to provide the proxy service for the requesting SP.The AP responds with a service registration response 42 including an IEconfirming or rejecting the request, and including other informationused by the SP. The message formats described are examples of formatsapplicable for use in advertising and registering AP proxy capabilities.Other formats are also applicable to provide information between the APand other devices in the system 100.

The various messages provided as IEs may be built according to aType-Length-Value (TLV) format, which is used in other datacommunication protocols as well. Information may be encoded as an IEelement in the protocol defining these as fixed-size fields orvariable-size fields. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating aType-Length-Value (TLV) frame 50 for use in a communication protocol,including type field 52, length field 54 and value field 56, each ofwhich are IEs according to an example embodiment. The type field 52 is anumeric code indicating the kind of field that this part of the messagerepresents. The length field 54 provides the size of the value field 56;the size may be provided in bytes of data. The value field 56 containsthe data portion of the message. While other mechanisms may beimplemented for providing information in the IE, such TLV sequences areeasily searched using generalized parsing functions when employed in aneasy to read format, such as in a binary format, and allow easyextraction of new portions of a message.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a service registrationInformation Element (IE) of a message frame 60, in accordance withexample embodiment. The message frame 60 includes several IEs in a TLVformat. As illustrated, message frame 60 includes an element ID field 62to identify an IE, such as where the IE is vendor-specific, and a lengthfield 64 identifying a size of the data provided in the message frame60. The message frame 60 also includes an Organizationally UniqueIdentifier (OUI) field 66, which stores a number for registration with aregistration authority, such as the IEEE. The identifier may identify avendor or other organization associated with an equipment vendor ororganization.

Continuing with FIG. 5, the message frame 60 also includes a dialogtoken field 70, where the dialog token is a sequence number generatedfor a request-response pair. As discussed hereinabove, the attributesare specific to the service offered by the SP, the attributes of theservice offered by the SP as well as the location of the SP withinsystem 100. For example, the device 18 may not be interested in printingservices from device 15 if device 15 is inconveniently located. Stillfurther, message frame 60 includes a protocol type field 72 andsub-elements field 74. The protocol type field 72 may identify acommunication protocol used to access and provide the service(s) of theSP. The sub-element field 74 identifies the attributes of the SPservice, and, in one embodiment, is provided as encoded information. Asillustrated in FIG. 5, the sub-elements field 74 includes various otherfields including a service type field 80, a device type field 82 and auser friendly name field 84. The sub-elements field 74 may include anynumber of fields to store sub-elements. The form of the informationstored in the fields within the sub-elements field 74 may be encodedaccording to a specified format. In one embodiment, the sub-elementinformation identifies a location within system 100 where more specificinformation is found. A variety of methods may be used to convey theservice and access information to an AP or an SC.

Using the methods described, an AP receives the information from the SPand stores such information. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating anAP 150 and an SP 170 within a communication system, in accordance withexample embodiments. The SP 170 may associate with the AP 150 accordingto a message exchange illustrated in FIG. 7, as discussed herein below.When the AP 150 receives information from the SP 170, such as in amessage frame 60 of FIG. 5, the AP 150 stores the received informationin a cache memory 154. The cache memory 154 may be within the AP 150, ormay be an external memory device. As illustrated, the AP 150 furtherincludes a transceiver 160 for wireless communication, such as Wi-Ficommunications, a controller 158 for implementing operations within AP150, and an AP proxy engine 156 to provide functions enabling the AP 150to act as a proxy for SPs in service discovery. The cache memory 154stores service and access information for those SPs having registeredwith AP 150. Further, the AP 150 may store information enabling networkconnectivity and communications for multiple devices.

In the example of FIG. 6, the SP 170 includes a controller 178, a cachememory 174, a service engine 176 and a transceiver 180. The controller178 implements operations within SP 170 and may control interactionswith the service engine 176. The service engine 176 enables thefunctions of service(s) offered by and performed by SP 170. Thetransceiver 180 enables wireless communication, such as Wi-Ficommunications. The AP 150 and the SP 170 may each include other modulesand may have capabilities in addition to those illustrated in FIG. 6.

When the AP 150 receives information from SP 170, the AP 150 determinesif there is capacity in the cache memory 154 to store the informationand if there is capability for AP proxy engine 156 to support the APproxy requested by SP 170. The AP 150 may provide the AP proxycapabilities for other devices and may deny a request from SP 170 whenmemory in the cache memory 154 is limited or unavailable. The AP 150sends a service registration response IE 42 from transceiver 160. Thetransceiver 160 acts as a communication module for communicating withina wireless communication network, such as a network supporting Wi-Ficommunications.

FIG. 7 illustrates an association between AP 150 and SP 170 in a signalflow diagram, in accordance with an example embodiment. In oneembodiment a P2P device registers services and capabilities with anotherP2P device by sending an Association Request (AR) including service IEs.In response, the devices negotiate a Successful Association (SA). The SP170 sends an association request 190 including service IE(s) to identifythe SP 170 service(s). The AP 150 responds with a successful associationmessage 192, which initiates establishment of a secure communication,and the resultant success message 194. In one example, as illustrated,the success message 194 identifies a security association, such as toestablish a Robust Security Network Association (RSNA) securityassociation, which defines a handshaking authentication or associationprocess in a network supporting Wi-Fi communications.

Returning to the AP 150 and SP 170 of FIG. 6, the SP 170 may alsode-register from the AP 150 to remove service records from cache memory154. The SP 170 sends a service de-registration request IE withsub-elements as in the service registration request IE of FIG. 3. The AP150 receives the service de-registration request IE and removes fromcache memory 154 those contents specified in the sub-elements of therequest. The AP 150 then replies with a service de-registration responseIE to indicate that de-registration was successful or not.

Note, in some examples, the AP 150 may also remove the SP 170 servicerecord, including the sub-elements provided to AP 150 from SP 170 duringregistration and association when a service timer expires. In oneexample, a Basic Service Set (BSS) specifies transition between APs aspart of a security key negotiation protocol. Keys are renegotiatedaccording to a time schedule. Where an indication is given that the keysor security has expired, the AP 150 may terminate the registration orthe association. In such cases, the AP 150 acts proactively to protectsecure communications. Similarly, the SP 170 may be a mobile device,such as device 18 of FIG. 1; where the SP 170 leaves the network 20 orsystem 100 but fails to provide a de-registration request, the AP 150may remove the service record corresponding to SP 170 from the cachememory 154.

In the various communications for service registration, de-registrationand AP association, message frames are provided between the SP and theAP. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the information exchanged between AP 150and SP 170 may be provided in message frame 60, which may be amanagement frame or an action frame. In a Wi-Fi communication system,management frames enable devices, sometimes referred to as stations(STAs) to establish and maintain communications. Management framesinclude authentication frames to initiate or terminate securecommunications with a device, association frames for an AP to allocateresources, beacon frames for an AP to broadcast its presence in thesystem, and probe frames to obtain and provide information to a device.The information may also be exchanged in action frames, which are usedto request and satisfy an action.

Service Discovery Using an AP Proxy

According to some embodiments, service discovery using an AP proxymethod includes implementing a proxy capability advertisement. In thisway, the AP advertises that it is able to receive registrations from SPswithin the system 100 as well as requests for service discovery.Accordingly, an AP which supports AP proxy function advertises the APproxy capability to the network and to devices within system 100 ofFIG. 1. A bit to identify the L2SD proxy capability may be included in aproxy capability message. Such information may be included in beacons aswell as probe responses. SPs may discover the AP's proxy capability frombeacons sent out periodically including the advertisement, or byactively scanning for the information, such as by sending a proberequest.

Devices within the network are able to locate services, such as thoseoffered by SP 16 or device 15, by sending a request to an AP, such asdevice 14, within the system 100. For a device, such as an SC, servicediscovery involves a scan and find procedure. During the scan phase oneof multiple devices within system 100 searches for other devices. Thescan phase is implemented when a device sends a probe request includinginformation as designated by a specific protocol. The probe request mayinclude a Service Set ID (SSID), which is a unique identifier that actsas a password for connection of a mobile device to a network. The SSIDprovides information to differentiate WLANs from each other. In thisway, APs and other devices attempting to connect to a specific WLAN willuse the same SSID.

FIG. 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a scan phase in servicediscovery in the system 100, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention. In this case, the device 10 is scanning to identifycomponents in the system 100 and sends an information request message202, such as a probe request with a query IE, to device 12. In response,the device 12 responds with an information response message 204, such asa probe response, which includes a service IE providing information forthe service offered by device 15, as well as access to the service.Service discovery is implemented when the device 10, acting as an SC,comes in the proximity of SP devices, such as device 15. The SC searchesfor available services by sending an information request message 202 orby including a query IE in a probe request. The query IE identifies aservice the SC desires to find, and may include multiple query IEs ifmore than one service is desired. It is further possible for the SC toidentify available services using a wildcard identifier, such as to senda query IE without specifying specific sub-elements.

FIG. 9 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a scan phase in servicediscovery using an AP proxy service discovery, in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention. During the scan phase, device 10scans system 100 for P2P devices and sends an information requestmessage 206 to device 14. In response, device 14 responds with aninformation response message 208, including multiple service IEs. Inthis case, device 14 acts as an AP and provides the service informationrelating to those SPs which have registered therewith. The AP mayprovide all of the services available or may provide a subset of theservices available. In one example, the AP determines a loading balancefor the SPs represented and implements a load balancing method todetermine those SPs for which to provide information in response to arequesting SC.

According to some embodiments, when there is at least one SP in the AP'sassociation to provide a requested service, the AP sends a proberesponse that includes the service IEs having sub-elements from theregistered SP related to the requested service. For multiple SPsavailable to provide a requested service, several service IEs may beincluded in the probe response, where each service IE may include thosesub-elements of the service registered by one such SP.

FIG. 10 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an AP proxy servicediscovery process, in accordance with example embodiments, illustratingthe coordination of the AP as a proxy for SP(s) in communication with anSC. As illustrated, the SP has registered with the AP as in FIG. 3, byproviding a service registration request IE 40 and receiving a serviceregistration response IE 42. The AP has cached the service informationfor the SP, and then receives a query IE 220 from an SC. The query IE220 may be a probe request provided by the SC. In response, the APevaluates the information cached with respect to the various SP(s) andprovides a service IE 222, which may be a probe response.

For example, when an SC includes service type information as:

-   -   “urn: schemas-upnp-org:service:PrintBasic:1”        within the query IE 220, requesting a printing service, the AP        evaluates the service information to identify at least one SP        that provides such a service. In this example, an SP had        previously registered a printing service with the AP. The AP        responds to the SC request by providing a service IE 222        including the same sub-elements as provided by the SP as part of        the service registration request IE 40 and stored in cache        memory (such as cache memory 154 of FIG. 6) of the AP.

The AP handles these requests as messages, such as in layer 2 of the OSImodel, and therefore does not need to understand the services providedby the SP(s). The information contained in a message, such as service IE222, is provided to the SC, which retrieves the information andunderstands the service indications. In some embodiments, the system maybe designed such that AP does not support higher layer service discoveryprotocols, as the AP proxy functions are enabled in layer 2communications. In such examples, the AP stores service information asspecified in sub-elements in service registration. The AP then searchesthrough the stored sub-elements over the various SP(s) in response to aquery IE 220, and responds providing those sub-elements that match thequery. Effectively, the AP merely collects data, such as the messageframe fields, maintains the data as a service record corresponding toeach SP, retrieves the information when requested, and provides theinformation to the requester.

In some examples, however, the AP may have knowledge of the specifics ofthe services, including service type, service attributes, context, SPlocation, and so forth, which may be used for load balancing or otherconsiderations. A range of implementations are available consistent witha Wi-Fi communication system, and other type of communication systems,to use minimum functionality of the AP or to implement smartfunctionality by adding capabilities.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an AP proxy service discoveryprocess, in accordance with example embodiments. As illustrated, themethod 250 provides activities for an AP, such as device 14 of FIG. 1,acting as a proxy in a network. The method includes activities to send,at operation 252, proxy capabilities in a beacon or other broadcastmessage. When the AP receives at operation 254 a registration requestfrom an SP, such as SP 16 of FIG. 1, the AP establishes security withthe SP at operation 256. This may involve a negotiation between the APand SP, and may be subject to timers to maintain the keys and artifactsof the security system.

The method 250 further includes activities for the AP to store a list ofSP information in a memory storage unit at operation 258. At a latertime, the AP receives a request for service information from a device,such as an SC, at operation 260. The AP then matches requested serviceinformation received from a potential service consumer to informationstored in the memory storage unit at operation 262. The AP retrievesinformation as stored in the memory storage unit and, at operation 264,provides service information for the SPs registered with the AP. In oneembodiment, the AP sends information related to the requested service,such as providing information about printers when an SC seeks to print adocument.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of a service consumerin a system supporting an AP proxy service discovery process, inaccordance with example embodiment. As illustrated, a method 300 beginsat operation 302 when a device, acting as a service consumer orpotential service consumer, optionally sends a service request to an AP.The AP is acting as a proxy for a service provider. In one example, thedevice sends the service request as a probe request, such as illustratedin FIG. 10. The service request or probe request includes information asto the type of service requested. Similarly, the service request mayinclude other information to identify the requested service.

In some examples, the AP provides a broadcast message or beacon toadvertise the AP proxy service, which may include service providerinformation. Where the service provider information is transmitted as abroadcast message, service consumers receive the information and areable to access the service provider using the received information. Insuch a case, the service consumer does not necessarily send the servicerequest to the AP.

Continuing with the method 300 of FIG. 12, at operation 304 the devicereceives the service information, such as information included in an IEprovided by the AP. The service information may provide information formultiple service providers. At operation 306, the device may then selectthe service provider for the service. In some examples, the device mayselect multiple service providers for service. Similarly, the device maysend an information service request to receive information as to theservices available through the AP. The device may then decide on aservice and a service provider. The device may decide on multipleservices from multiple service providers. In an example embodiment, thedevice performs these operations automatically, such as where a reportis scheduled for printing at a set time each week, and the deviceautomatically seeks a printer close to the device for printing. Inanother example, a user of the device may provide instructions toperform an operation which includes accessing multiple services. Inresponse, the device determines the services needed to perform theoperation, identifies service providers, selects service providers andaccesses the services at the service providers.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, at operation 306 the device selects a serviceprovider, and then at operation 308 accesses the service provider torequest the service. At operation 310, the device receives the service.Various implementations are considered, including an example allowing avendor to optimize operations by caching SP information at an SC. Inthis example, the SC assumes the SP is valid unless an error isreceived. In another example, the SC uses a service discovery processeach time a service is desired.

According to an example embodiment, a group owner may advertise deviceinformation for P2P clients within the group or currently associatedwith the group. In one example, the advertisement is referred to as agroup information advertisement. In this way, if multiple devices areassociated with or known to a group of devices, the information for thedevices is known by the group owner, or a designated one of the devices.The group owner makes the information for the group available to otherswithin the system 100 or through the system 100. The group informationadvertisement may be provided in a structure of a P2P group informationsub-element. The group information advertisement allows another deviceto locate device information for other P2P groups or devices within asame group. The advertisements enable discovery of devices, such as P2Pdevices, which are known within system 100.

The group owner indicates its status as a member of a P2P group. Forexample, in FIG. 1, device 14 may be a group owner of group 11, and actsas AP for devices within group 11. This designation may be made bysetting a bit in a field of an IE within a message frame, or may be madeby sending a separate message to a node in the system 100. In oneembodiment, the group indication is indicated by setting a bit as agroup owner field in a P2P information sub-element included in aresponse frame, such as a beacon and probe response frame provided forboth scanning for other devices and responding to scan requests receivedfrom other devices. Further, a device may provide additional informationabout the device in such messages and frames. For example, the devicemay further indicate whether additional connections are supported, suchas in a group connection field in the P2P information sub-element.

Proxy AP service discovery may be used in coordination with otherservice discovery protocols, such as those done in different layers ofthe OSI model. For congested environments, such as for multiple networksor peer devices, the SC device may reduce the time for servicediscovery, providing an efficient use of a device.

In some examples, a device may narrow a service discovery scan phase toscan for a specific device type, rather than service type. In oneembodiment a device discovery phase involves sending a query for adesignated device type using a Wi-Fi Protected Set-up (WPS) IE asdefined in Table II.

TABLE II WPS Information Element Attribute WPS IE Device Name P2P Clientonly Primary Device Type P2P Client and Legacy WPS ClientThe WPS IE attribute for a requested device type may be similar to theformat of other device type and may be included in the WPS IE of theprobe request frame. A P2P group owner having a device type valueidentical to the requested device type value responds to the proberequest frame with a probe response frame indicating that the devicetype is satisfied. When the probe request does not include a requesteddevice type attribute in the WPS IE, then the group owner responds byproviding all P2P devices in the probe response.

FIG. 13 is a computing system for implementing an AP proxy servicediscovery process, in accordance with example embodiments. The computingsystem 400 includes a receiver 404, a transmitter 406, an antenna 402and memory storage 408. The receiver 404 and transmitter 406 may be asingle transceiver unit for wireless communication. The computing system400 may act as an AP, an SP or an SC. The computing system 400 furtherincludes a registration engine 414 enabling the computing system 400 toact as an AP in receiving association and registration requests. A proxyprocessing module 414 enables operation as an AP, and a controller 416provides control and enables operations within the computing system 400.A communication bus 412 enables communications for the various modulesof the computing system 400.

In some embodiments, receiver 404 may be configured to receiveOrthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplex (OFDM) communication signalsover a multicarrier communication channel. The OFDM signals may comprisea plurality of orthogonal subcarriers. In some of these multicarrierembodiments, receiver 404 may be part of a Wireless Local Area Networks(WLANs) communication station such as a Wireless Access Point (WAP),base station or a mobile device including a Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi)device. In some broadband multicarrier embodiments, a base station maybe part of a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) network communicationstation, such as a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX) communication station. In some other broadband multicarrierembodiments, base stations and other network devices may be a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess Network (UTRAN), or a Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) communicationstation, although the scope of the invention is not limited in thisrespect. In these broadband multicarrier embodiments, base stations andmobile stations may be configured to communicate in accordance with anOFDM Access (OFDMA) technique.

In some embodiments, receiver 404 may be configured to receive signalsin accordance with specific communication standards, such as theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standardsincluding IEEE 802.11-2007 and/or 802.11(n) standards and/or proposedspecifications for WLANs, although the scope of the invention is notlimited in this respect as the systems, methods and apparatusesdiscussed herein may also be suitable to transmit and/or receivecommunications in accordance with other techniques and standards. Insome embodiments, receiver 404 may be configured to receive signals inaccordance with the IEEE 802.16-2004 and the IEEE 802.16(e) standardsfor Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), including variationsand evolutions thereof, although the scope of the invention is notlimited in this respect as the systems, methods and apparatusesdiscussed herein may also be suitable to transmit and/or receivecommunications in accordance with other techniques and standards. Insome embodiments, receiver 404 may be configured to receive signals inaccordance with the UTRAN LTE communication standards. For moreinformation with respect to the IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.16 standards,please refer to “IEEE Standards for InformationTechnology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange betweenSystems”—Local Area Networks—Specific Requirements—Part 11 “Wireless LANMedium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY), ISO/IEC 8802-11:1999”, and Metropolitan Area Networks—Specific Requirements—Part 16:“Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems,” May 2005,and related amendments/versions. For more information with respect toUTRAN LTE standards, see the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)standards for UTRAN-LTE, release 8, March 2008, including variations andevolutions thereof.

In some other embodiments, receiver 404 may be configured to receivesignals that were transmitted using one or more other modulationtechniques such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., Direct SequenceCode Division-Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) and/or Frequency Hopping CodeDivision-Multiple Access (FH-CDMA)), Time Division-Multiplexing (TDM)modulation, and/or Frequency Division-Multiplexing (FDM) modulation,although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, receiver 404 may be part of a portable wirelesscommunication device, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), alaptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, aweb tablet, a wireless telephone, a wireless headset, a pager, aninstant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, atelevision, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a bloodpressure monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive and/ortransmit information wirelessly.

Antenna 402 may comprise one or more directional or omni-directionalantennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas,patch antennas, loop antennas, micro-strip antennas or other types ofantennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments,instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multipleapertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may beconsidered a separate antenna. In some Multiple Input Multiple Output(MIMO) embodiments, antenna 402 may be effectively separated to takeadvantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristicsthat may result between each of antenna 402 and the antennas of atransmitting station. In some MIMO embodiments, antenna 402 may beseparated by up to 1/10 of a wavelength or more.

In one embodiment, a method is performed by a processing unit fordiscovery in a wireless communication network. The method includesreceiving a registration request from a service provider, storing a setof information for the service provider in a memory storage unit, andtransmitting an indication of the service provider to at least oneservice consumer in the wireless communication network. The method mayfurther include receiving a service request from a service consumer, theservice request including requested service information and retrievingat least a portion of the set of information stored in the memorystorage unit. Still further, the method may include sending a serviceresponse to the service consumer identifying the service provider, theservice response including a plurality of information elements. In oneembodiment, the method includes matching the requested serviceinformation to information stored in the memory storage unit, andretrieving the at least a portion of the set of information containinginformation matching the requested service information.

The service response may include a plurality of information elements,wherein an information element identifies one of: a type of serviceoffered by the service provider, and access information for the serviceprovider. A processing unit may be employed to receive a de-registrationrequest from the service provider and to remove the set of informationfrom the memory storage unit. Transmission of the indication is furtherto advertise the indication of the service provider to devices in thewireless communication network. Additionally, a processing unit mayreceive a probe request from a service consumer; and transmit theindication of the service provider as a probe response to the serviceconsumer. Still further, the processing unit may transmit a proxyservice capability to service providers in the wireless communicationnetwork. The wireless communication network may support Wi-Ficommunication. The memory storage unit may store a plurality of sets ofinformation corresponding to a plurality of service providers.

In some embodiments, a method in a wireless communication networkincludes sending a service request to a device, the device acting as aproxy for a plurality of service providers, receiving information for atleast one of the plurality of service providers from the device, andaccessing the at least one of the plurality of service providers usingthe information.

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a communication module ortransceiver to send and receive wireless communication signals within awireless communication network, a proxy processing module to provideaccess point services within the wireless communication network and toreceive service provider information from a plurality of serviceproviders associated with the apparatus, and a memory storage unit tostore the service provider information for the plurality of serviceproviders, wherein the communication module is to transmit an indicationof the service provider information to at least one service consumer inthe wireless communication network. The apparatus may support a wirelesscommunication protocol for Wi-Fi communications. The proxy processingmodule may transmit a proxy advertisement within the wirelesscommunication network. The service provider information is received asan information element including a service provider identifier, aservice type identifier, and access information for the serviceprovider. The proxy processing module is further to transmit serviceprovider information for a plurality of service providers within thewireless communication network. The proxy processing module is furtherto retrieve service provider information in response to a servicerequest from a service consumer in the wireless communication network.

In some embodiments, a machine-readable medium is comprised ofinstructions, which when implemented by one or more machines, cause theone or more machines to receive a registration request from a serviceprovider, store a set of information for the service provider in amemory storage unit, and transmit an indication of the service providerto at least one service consumer in the wireless communication network.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “displaying,” or the like,may refer to an action and/or process of one or more processing orcomputing systems or similar devices that may manipulate and transformdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within aprocessing system's registers and memory into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the processing system'sregisters or memories, or other such information storage, transmissionor display devices. Furthermore, as used herein, a computing deviceincludes one or more processing elements coupled with computer-readablememory that may be volatile or non-volatile memory or a combinationthereof.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented in one or a combinationof hardware, firmware, and software. Embodiments of the invention mayalso be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium,which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform theoperations described herein. A machine-readable medium may include anymechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable bya machine (e.g., a computer). A machine-readable medium may include, butis not limited to, FLASH memory, optical disks, Compact Disks-Read OnlyMemory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile/Video Disks (DVD), Read Only Memory(ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory(EEPROM), magnetic or optical cards, propagation media or other type ofmachine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Forexample, embodiments of the invention may be downloaded as a computerprogram, which may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., aserver) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signalsembodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via acommunication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).

It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to“one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention.Therefore, it should be appreciated that two or more references to “anembodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative embodiment” invarious portions of this specification are not necessarily all referringto the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structuresor characteristics may be combined as suitable in one or moreembodiments of the invention.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the invention, various features are sometimes groupedtogether in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure, aiding in the understanding ofone or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure,however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recitedin each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventiveaspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosedembodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description arehereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Having disclosed embodiments and the best mode, modifications andvariations may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remainingwithin the scope of the embodiments as defined by the following claims.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b)requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the natureand gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scopeor meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporatedinto the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a wireless access point forservice discovery in a wireless communication network, comprising:receiving a registration request from a service provider over thewireless communication network, the service provider having previouslycompleted an association procedure with the wireless access point;determining whether the access point is capable of providing a proxyservice for the service provider; storing a set of information for theservice provider in a memory storage unit when there is capacity in thememory storage unit and the access point is capable of providing theproxy service; receiving a probe request message from a service consumerin the wireless communication network, the probe request messageincluding a query element, the query element requesting serviceinformation from the wireless access point; and transmitting a proberesponse including at least a subset of the set of information for theservice provider to the service consumer in the wireless communicationnetwork responsive to receiving the probe request.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the association procedure is an association procedurein accordance with an IEEE 802.11 family of standards.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: transmitting the probe response includingthe at least a subset of the set of information for the service providerresponsive to determining that the set of information matches requestedservice information of the probe request.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the probe request and probe reply are Medium Access Control(MAC) messages in accordance with an Open Systems Interconnectionreference model.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising using theat least one processing unit to transmit a proxy service capability toservice providers in the wireless communication network.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the wireless access point operates in accordancewith an IEEE 802.11 family of standards, and wherein the memory storageunit stores a plurality of sets of information corresponding to aplurality of service providers.
 7. A method in a wireless communicationnetwork, comprising sending a probe request message to a wireless accesspoint, the wireless access point acting as a proxy for a plurality ofservice providers who are associated with the wireless access point onthe wireless communication network through a previous associationprocess, the probe request message including a query element, the queryelement requesting service information from the wireless access point;receiving a probe response from the wireless access point over thewireless network, the probe response message including information forat least one of the plurality of service providers that was provided bythe at least one of the plurality of service providers through aregistration process completed with the wireless access point, thewireless access point determining whether there is capacity in a memorystorage unit to store the information and a capability to provide aproxy service for the at least one of the plurality of serviceproviders; and accessing the at least one of the plurality of serviceproviders over the wireless communication network using the information.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the probe request and the proberesponse messages are Medium Access Control (MAC) messages in accordancewith an Open Systems Interconnection reference model.
 9. The method asin claim 7, further comprising sending a registration request to thewireless access point to register as a service provider using a deviceas a proxy.
 10. A wireless access point, comprising: a communicationmodule configured to send and receive wireless communication signalswithin a wireless communication network; a proxy processing moduleconfigured to: provide access point services within the wirelesscommunication network; receive service provider information from aplurality of service providers having previously completed anassociation procedure with the wireless access point; determine whetherthe wireless access point is capable of providing a proxy service forthe plurality of service providers; and a memory storage unit to storethe service provider information for the plurality of service providerswhen there is capacity in the memory storage unit and the wirelessaccess point is capable of providing the proxy service, wherein thecommunication module is configured to: receive a probe request messagefrom a service consumer in the wireless communication network, the proberequest message including a query element, the query element requestingservice information from the wireless access point; and transmit a proberesponse including at least a subset of the service provider informationto at least one service consumer in the wireless communication network.11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the wireless access pointoperates in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 family of standards.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the proxy processing module is further totransmit a proxy advertisement within the wireless communicationnetwork.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the service providerinformation is received as an information element including a serviceprovider identifier, a service type identifier, and access informationfor the service provider.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein theproxy processing module is further configured to transmit serviceprovider information for the plurality of service providers within thewireless communication network.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, whereinthe probe request and the probe response messages are Medium AccessControl (MAC) messages in accordance with an Open SystemsInterconnection reference model.
 16. A non-transitory machine-readablemedium comprising instructions, which when implemented by one or moremachines, cause the one or more machines to: receive a registrationrequest from a service provider at a wireless access point in a wirelesscommunication network, the service provider having previously completedan association procedure with the wireless access point; determinewhether the access point is capable of providing a proxy service for theservice provider; store a set of information for the service provider ina memory storage unit when there is capacity in the memory storage unitand the wireless access point is capable of providing the proxy service;receive a probe request message from a service consumer in the wirelesscommunication network, the probe request message including a queryelement, the query element requesting service information from thewireless access point; and transmit a probe response including at leasta subset of the set of information for the service provider to theservice consumer in the wireless communication network responsive toreceiving the probe request.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, which when implemented bythe one or more machines, cause the machines to transmit the proberesponse by transmitting an information element identifying one of: atype of service offered by the service provider; and access informationfor the service provider.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable mediumof claim 16, wherein the instructions, which when implemented by the oneor more machines cause the machine to: receive a de-registration requestfrom the service provider; and remove the set of information from thememory storage unit.